“Building a Life That Lasts”
This is an adapted excerpt from “Under Construction“ for our Seven Sermon Summer Surfin’ Spectacular.
Have you ever lived through a home remodel? For a decade, my family was in a constant state of renovation. On any given day, you might find bare walls with 2x4s showing, a fine layer of sawdust on every surface, and tools scattered about. We’d have friends over for dinner while a six-foot hole gaped in the floor between the kitchen and the bathroom. Living in a construction zone is messy, challenging, and you long for the day when you can just settle in and feel "done."
Our spiritual lives often feel the same way. If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re living through a lifelong inner renovation. We want to feel like we’ve finally arrived, that we have it all figured out. But discipleship is a process, not a destination. The Bible promises that God, who began this good work in you, “will bring it to completion” (Phil. 1:6). You're not a finished product, but you are a project he is lovingly and patiently building.
The real problem isn't being an incomplete project; it's when the work stops altogether. So, how do we partner with God and keep the work going? Here are four practical tools drawn from the construction site to help you build a life that truly lasts.
Tool #1: Sharpen Your Edge
In the middle of a big project, it feels counterproductive to stop cutting wood just to sharpen your saw blade. But as the book of Ecclesiastes wisely notes, “If the iron is blunt and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed” (Eccl. 10:10). Working with a dull tool doesn't just make the job harder; it makes you less effective.
"Sharpening your edge" means intentionally taking time away from "doing" to focus on "being" and "growing." When was the last time you read a spiritual book just to grow? How is your time in prayer or in God's Word? Investing time in these things isn't selfish or unproductive. It’s wisdom. It’s "working smarter, not harder," so that when you get back to the work of serving God and others, you are more fruitful and effective.
Tool #2: Square Yourself Up
No good builder frames a wall without constantly checking if it's "plumb" and "square." They use levels and squares to make sure their work aligns with the unchangeable laws of physics — otherwise, the structure could crumble. In the same way, God wants us to be straight and upright. The prophet Amos envisioned God standing beside a wall with a plumb line in his hand to measure his people’s uprightness (Amos 7:7-8). The goal is to be able to praise God with an “upright heart,” as the psalmist says, by learning his righteous rules (Ps. 119:7).
He gives us his "righteous rules" not to boss us around, but to provide a standard that shows us how to live rightly so our lives don't fall apart. This requires us to be brutally honest with ourselves. We have to regularly check our lives against God's Word and ask: "Is there a crooked part of my life I’m ignoring? A little dishonesty here, a little selfishness there?" When we confess these things, he is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). He helps us level our lives against his perfect standard.
Tool #3: Secure Your Foundation
Walk down the fastener aisle at a hardware store and you'll see thousands of different nails, screws, and bolts designed to hold things together securely. Without them, the ceiling would fall and the walls would collapse. We, too, need to be securely fastened. Have you ever felt like you were "just coming apart"? The antidote to this feeling is being grounded and firmly attached to the Lord.
The Bible says the righteous person “will never be moved ... He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord” (Ps. 112:6-7). Our security doesn't come from our own strength, but from our trust in God. When we are securely fastened to him, we become “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). This firm foundation is what gives us the confidence to stop hoarding our lives and instead pour ourselves out in generosity and service to others.
Tool #4: Sweep Up and Fill the Space
At the end of a long day of construction, you have to clean up. Spiritually, this in an act of asking God to “purge me ... and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Ps. 51:7). But the work isn't finished once we've swept the old sin and filth away.
Jesus told a story about a man who cleaned a demon out of his "house," but left it empty. The demon returned with seven friends, and the man's state was worse than before. The lesson is clear: it's not enough to just clean out the old. We’ve got to fill the newly cleaned space with the presence of God himself. David’s prayer wasn't just "cleanse me," but “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10).
Your Turn
We often try to fix the deep problems in our lives with spiritual "duct tape" — quick fixes and self-help hacks that don't last. But God isn't interested in patching you up; he's a master builder who wants to heal you and build a life that will stand firm through any storm.
What is one "duct tape" solution you’ve been relying on? This week, how can you trade it for one of the four tools above and invite God into the real construction work of your heart?